Netflix has been very hush-hush about Bridgerton Season 4 so far, but thanks to some of its stars, we’re starting to put some of the pieces together. Though we still aren’t sure how exactly Benedict (Luke Thompson) and Sophie’s (Yerin Ha) journey will play out in the show, we do know that Bridgerton will taking a Downton Abbey-esque approach to other parts of the story.
In addition to the lead changes, expect the show to turn its focus on new characters. Polly Walker, who is set to return as Lady Featherington, shared that the next installment won’t be like the past three.
“I think this season will be — which we’ve just finished doing — I think it’s a very different tone,” the actress revealed to Collider. She attributes the shift to the fact that the season will focus on the servants in the Bridgerton world. Aside from its Queen Charlotte prequel — which made main characters out of the royal butler and secretary — we haven’t seen much of the working class in the Regency drama.
“Sort of upstairs-downstairs, so you get to know some of the other, you know, the servants, the people who are standing at the door, witnessing it all,” Walker elaborated. “You get to hear their stories a bit more.”
[The following includes minor spoilers for Julia Quinn’s An Offer from a Gentleman, so read at your own risk!]
Readers of Julia Quinn’s third Bridgerton book will know that one of those stories includes Sophie’s. Though Benedict assumes Sophie is a lady of nobility at his mother’s masquerade ball, she’s actually her wicked stepmother’s maid. (Sound familiar?) After she kicks Sophie to the curb, Araminta (played by Katie Leung in Season 4) struggles to retain servants willing to take over Sophie’s strenuous duties. She eventually starts stealing the ones under Lady Featherington’s employ. Of course, it’s all dutifully reported by Lady Whistledown in her column.
Based on the first-look photos and Walker’s comments, there’s a high likelihood of seeing their “maid war” next season, and while Benedict and Sophie fall for each other, we’ll also get a closer look at the servants’ journeys than the book offered.
While Bridgerton is changing some things up for Season 4, many aspects will stay the same, according to Walker. “My character, Lady Featherington, is still up to no good,” she teased. Further, she confirmed that her character won’t get a love interest of her own. “I desperately need a boyfriend, but they won’t give me one. They give everybody else boyfriends,” she added.
